From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpropagateprop‧a‧gate /ˈprɒpəɡeɪt $ ˈprɑː-/ verb formal 1 [transitive]TELL formal to spread an idea, belief etc to many people The group launched a website to propagate its ideas.2 [intransitive, transitive]TACDLG if you propagate plants, or if they propagate, they start to grow from a parent plant to produce new plants Propagate your plants in fresh soil.3 [transitive]HB if an animal, insect etc propagates itself or is propagated, it increases in number SYN reproduce —propagation /ˌprɒpəˈɡeɪʃən $ ˌprɑː-/ noun [uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
propagate• The law denied to the state the right to propagate atheism or otherwise to interfere in religious affairs.• The vines are propagated by cuttings.• The plant is propagated by dividing older tufts or by spores; growth is very slow.• The belief that the king was a living god was propagated early in the 18th century.• Rasberries can be propagated in two different ways.• In nature plants of this genus are propagated mainly from the seeds.• Homer should have been flogged for propagating rubbish.• If this is the case, then the task of propagating the ideal of legality is not a specifically legal one.• Further, deep-water surface waves propagate with almost no frictional loss of energy.Origin propagate (1500-1600) Latin past participle of propagare “to breed plants from shoots”, from propago “shoot from which a new plant is produced” 